Types, varieties and evaluation criteria qualities of pearls

Purpose. To carry out a comprehensive analysis of the existing types and varieties of pearls on the world market of precious stones and to establish indicators of pearl quality assessment, which the expert service needs. The methods. The work uses general scientific and special research methods - theoretical (analysis, generalization, comparison), gemological and economic. The main part of the work is based on the analysis of literary sources, information from the Internet and practical results of previously performed research and expert evaluations. The objectivity of the methodology is ensured by a large amount of analytical work carried out on specific batches of pearls, as well as by a close natural relationship between types, species and methods of growing pearls. Findings. It is shown that pearls are precious stones of organogenic formation, which by genesis can be of natural origin, cultivated and synthetic. The credibility and reliability of the conducted research is ensured by the convergence of the results between the quality assessment criteria and the methods of growing pearls, as well as the complex of decorative properties that are established for each genetic variety. The proposed criteria for assessing the quality of pearls are aimed at obtaining objective results and, importantly, they ensure the invulnerability of the expert in his professional activity during the gemological examination. The originality. The main criteria for the quality of pearls have been established. Various variations of certain of its properties, characteristic of each specific genetic variety, became the basis for assessing the quality of pearls based on the natural relationship between methods of cultivation in different conditions (sea, river basins) and decorative properties. In the future, the proposed criteria for assessing the quality of pearls will allow to expand and improve the scientific and methodological base of the Expert Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and other related organizations. Practical implementation. The use of the proposed criteria for assessing the quality of pearls will allow specialists to determine the variety, geography of cultivation (method and place of cultivation), quality group and cost, which is determined by procedural and legal acts in the field of forensic examination.